


On the Road Again

by manateeselfies



Category: Xena: Warrior Princess
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-03
Updated: 2015-06-03
Packaged: 2018-04-02 16:56:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 808
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4067557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/manateeselfies/pseuds/manateeselfies
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Xena and Gabrielle hit the road. Just one short sketch for now but if I have more good ideas I'll add some more drabbles.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On the Road Again

**Author's Note:**

> Note: This is me trying to capture what I loved most about XWP - the feeling of freely going from place to place, no structure, just two characters bouncing off each other. I wrote this because I miss them.

Xena and Gabrielle were on the road again and Gabrielle was happy about it. They had stayed in the last village longer than she had liked. Gabrielle liked to talk to people and hear their stories just as much as the next person, but in every place they stayed, there always came a time when she itched for the open road. The voices of those she had once eagerly greeted became harsh and annoying, the sights she had once marveled at became dull and uninteresting, and she began to wonder what was just over the horizon. 

The sun shined down, reflecting off the windshield of the 1996 Roadster they’d rented near the Athens airport. Xena had insisted that the car was a “her” and furthermore that “she” was called Argo. She had held firm through Gabrielle’s astute and eloquent arguments as to the stupidity of assigning a socially constructed gender to a hunk of metal. Once Gabrielle had seen the futility of changing Xena’s mind on this point, she had switched tactics. If they had to refer to the car by a name, why not something more original or alternative? The whole Greek mythology reference was so tired. The ship that carried Jason on his imperialistic mission? Really? It was the name of every other pizza joint or tourist agency they saw. How about Medusa? She was a misunderstood and underappreciated figure, no doubt. Or Hera? Jealous wives are always characterized unfairly by society. At this point Xena had given her the look. Her patented “shut-up-or-your-sketchbook-is-going-in-the-next-roadside-toilet” look. Gabrielle knew when to make a graceful about-face. She supposed that since the car was technically rented in Xena’s name, it was only fair that Xena was granted any and all sundry powers of naming. 

Gabrielle wanted little to do with maintaining the hunk of junk anyway. Xena seemed to be the only one who could get the rusty roof to come down without any painful squealing, or open the trunk without the handle embarrassingly falling off with a plunkety-plunk-plunk. Gabrielle had yet to master those skills. She had the sneaky suspicion that the car was somehow prejudiced against her. 

Xena had originally planned this tour of Greece as a solo venture: something about “reconnecting with her roots”. Except as far as Gabrielle knew, Xena didn’t have any family in Greece. She didn’t look Greek either, with her long black hair, slim yet tough physique, and olive-toned skin. Ok maybe she did look a little Greek. But Gabrielle didn’t buy it. Her instincts told her something else was going on here. And whatever that something was, it sparked Gabrielle’s abundant natural curiousity. So she had traded assignments with some of her fellow photographers at National Geographic to land a few gigs in Greece. It was at the same time as Xena’s trip? What a coincidence! They had better go together, save on gas and lodging, that kind of thing. Xena had privately rolled her eyes but didn’t put up a fuss. She was glad of the company, to be honest. She had originally looked forward to the solitude, but after a few days she felt more lonely than she had expected. She felt a weight lift off her chest the moment Gabrielle’s stuff landed in the backseat and a small blonde ball of enthusiasm and quick words rolled into the passenger side, one flailing leg after another.

The road to Thessaloniki from Athens was mountainous and windy, forcing Xena to drive slow or risk mortal peril. What was only a two hour drive according to Google Maps became a much longer one. The canyons gave the drive a secluded feeling as well, like every small pocket they entered was the whole world for a brief time. 

“Xena?”

“Mmm-hmm?”

“Why are we here?”

Xena laughed. “You’re asking me? You’re the one with a philosophy degree.”

“No, I mean, why are we here in Greece? What are you looking for?”

Xena briefly took her eyes off the road to glance at her companion’s suddenly serious face. She pondered how to reply.

“What makes you think I’m looking for something?”

Gabrielle snorted. “I know you, Xena. You’re restless. All that time in Zimbabwe and you came back with a frown and a “I’m-busy-don’t-bother-me” attitude, despite saying you went there to research the roots of the Keloniki language. Before that it was Alaska and you were doing a piece on environmental engineering. And before that, China.” Xena felt her posture stiffen at Gabrielle’s last sentence. Gabrielle took note and softened her voice.

“That’s why I wanted to come, Xena. I wanted to help you find… whatever it is you’re looking for.”

Xena glanced over again at her friend’s slightly upturned face. Patterned sunlight from the trees whooshing by danced across her face. Xena felt her throat close. “Maybe you will at that. Maybe you will”.


End file.
